Ortiz won't run for his old District 27 seat

Meanwhile, GOP incumbent may switch districts.

Updated 2:55 am, Friday, December 9, 2011

WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Solomon Ortiz said Thursday he would forgo a bid to reclaim his seat in Congress, clearing the way for other Democrats to seek the congressional seat held by Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold of Corpus Christi.

Armando Villalobos, the Cameron County district attorney in Brownsville, said he would seek the Democratic nomination in the 27th Congressional District that Farenthold currently holds.

Villalobos said he is running to end the partisan gridlock and “put an end to the chaos in Washington.”

“We have too many problems facing our nation to continue down this path,” he said.

He is eyeing a re-election bid in the newly created 34th Congressional District, which runs from Corpus Christi to Victoria and east along the Coastal Bend, spokesman Steve Ray said.

Farenthold also could run again in the 27th Congressional District, Ray said.

“We believe we can win in either district,” he said.

Farenthold is expected to announce the district in which he will seek re-election after a U.S. Supreme Court decision on a request by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to throw out the interim congressional map drawn by the federal court.

The 27th district, as drawn by the San Antonio-based federal court, includes more Rio Grande Valley voters and fewer residents in Corpus Christi.

Farenthold's home is in the new Republican-leaning 34th district.

Ortiz said the current configuration as drawn by the federal court in San Antonio would give Corpus Christi two congressmen but dilute its clout in Congress because the two districts are weighted toward voting populations near Houston and the Rio Grande Valley.

“In the long run, Corpus Christi loses, big time,” Ortiz said.

In the 27th district, several Democrats are eyeing a bid for the Democratic nomination, including a former congressional aide and public officials in Nueces and Cameron counties.